SEBERANG PERAI, Sept 9 — Beef, unagi, and grouper grown in a laboratory may sound like science fiction, but Penang engineer Jason Ng has made it a reality, with plans to launch the products in Singapore next year.
Two years ago, Ng, the founder of Cell AgriTech, set up a laboratory in Seberang Jaya to research cultivating meat from animal cells.
The success of that research has led to the establishment of the company’s first manufacturing plant in Singapore, slated to open next month.
The idea, Ng explained, was born from a personal dilemma.
“[My] mother-in-law is vegetarian, but I am a meat lover. I wanted to look for a meat substitute that tasted like (real) meat,” he said during an interview at his company’s premises today.
This led him to discover stem cell-based meat cultivation technology, which the former SMK Ching Ling Butterworth student then brought back to Malaysia.
With a RM10 million investment, Ng’s Penang lab now employs about 20 Malaysian scientists and researchers.
However, due to a lack of local regulations for the nascent industry, he could not set up a mass-production plant in Malaysia.
“Malaysia is not ready yet as this is still very new; there are no health and safety regulations. The government doesn’t have a guideline to audit the process, but Singapore already has all of these in place,” he said.
From lab to market
The new plant in Singapore is expected to produce 20,000 to 30,000 kilograms of cultivated meat per year.
Ng said they aim to get halal certification for their cultivated beef and unagi by the first quarter of 2026 and will launch the products in the Singaporean consumer market later that year.
He is focusing on high-end products for now, with a cost-effective manufacturing process.
Cell AgriTech, which was set up in Seberang Jaya two years ago, is preparing to open a new plant in Singapore next month. — Picture by Opalyn Mok
For example, he estimates the cultivated unagi will be priced between RM80 and RM120 per kilogramme, on par with the real thing.
The cultivated meat has the same taste profile and nutritional values as actual meat, but without the pathogens, hormones, or any worries about diseases, Ng explained.
While the consumer product launch is focused on Singapore, Cell AgriTech has received approval to produce cultivated meat for pet food in Malaysia, which it plans to launch by the second quarter of next year.
How is it made?
Cultivated meat is produced by taking stem cells from an animal and placing them in a bioreactor, a device that provides a controlled environment for the cells to replicate and grow.
After going through several processes to increase in volume and density, the cells are harvested.
According to Ng, the final product resembles minced meat.
Penang Agrotechnology, Food Security, and Cooperative Development Committee chairman Fahmi Zainol, who opened the conference, said he would take the initiative to check with the state mufti regarding a fatwa on cultivated meats.
“This is the first company to do this in Malaysia, and the government is not yet ready in terms of regulations,” Fahmi acknowledged.
“If the federal government is ready to provide the necessary certifications and permits, Penang will welcome Ng to set up his plant here.
“We certainly want them to set up here; this is a homegrown Penang product.”
